Things Worth Dying For
by Xtin2000
Summary: This is a friendship story about the members of the Order of the Phoenix, most importantly about Remus Lupin. Remus is looked for by the Death Eaters and needs to be protected not only from the bad guys but from himself...PS Sirius is alive and well
1. Default Chapter

The Order of the Phoenix was assembled at the kitchen table in number 12 Grimmauld place, arguing over strategies to defeat the Death Eaters.

" - and if we start an offensive this early and lose we could end up putting the wrong picture out for the public. Voldermort will be gaining followers without so much as a twitch of his finger!" Moody said angrily.

"We don't really have a choice in the matter, if we want to show that we defy the dark side we have to make a stand -" Kinsley spoke up.

"But if we do so, unprovoked, then it seems as if we are no better than the lot of them!"

"Come on! People already know what the Death Eaters are capable of. It's only been 13 years since they were at full rein. The community will not have forgotten so easily -"

"That is the problem exactly. They haven't forgotten. They still remember that anyone, who so much as mentioned that he disagreed with Voldemort was killed along with his family. If we can make people see that resistance is possible, they might reconsider their views on this conflict. And the bottom line is, we need people to change their views, and lots of them" Sirius concluded. Concentrated silence followed this last statement for a while.

"That's true, but I can't think of a way to make people see reason, with the way things are right now. An offensive would not only be bloody suicide, it would make us the bad guys from the block." Arthur Weasley put in.

"Talk about an image change..." muttered Tonks.

"We have a slight problem" Dumbledore who had remained quiet through out the argument, spoke up. All eyes in the room shifted over to him wearing identically puzzled expressions."There seems to be someone outside who appears to know about the magical presents within this block of houses."

Instantly, Moody's magical eye zoomed in the street outside and he gave a grunt of agreement "Yea, who is this fellow? Anybody know him? Looks a bit worn out; tall, gray hair -"

"I don't think that's going to help much Alastor, here let me" said Mundungus, raising his wand, muttering some spell under his breath. Instantly, the walls that separated the kitchen from the front porch became transparent.

They all saw a man with gray hair and dark eyes wearing a travel cloak, walking up and down in front of the house, wand in hand, and muttering something under his breath. Before anyone could react, however, Lupin got up and ended Mundungus' spell so the walls took their usual color again. "I'll go sort this out" he said.

"Friend of yours, Remus?" Mundungus inquired.

"I guess you could say that, I'm just surprised he knows I'm here." And with that, he made to leave the kitchen.

"Wait, Lupin, you sure it's safe?" Moody interjected.

" I don't see any other way to draw attention away from the fact that our headquarters are here. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Remus' voice held only the slightest bit of anxiety as he closed the kitchen door behind him. That was enough though to give, Moody this time, the excuse to eavesdrop. He repeated the spell Dung did earlier and enhanced it so every word that was spoken outside could be heard by the Order members as clearly as if the conversation was taking place in the kitchen.

Remus left the house, which must seem from the outside as though he was leaving from Number 11's front porch, and walked up to the guy who immediately embraced Lupin.

"It's good to see you Remus!"

"Yeah, same here Patric, it's been a while."

"No kidding! Listen, I'm here on a very urgent note."

"How did you know I was here in the first place?"

"It took quite a bit of work actually. As you know I can sense you, as much as you can sense me, but I had to walk through the whole bloody city in order to take in your sent and follow it here! Anyhow, what's important is that you are in huge danger my friend, does the name Pettigrew ring a bell?"

The darkest of looks crossed Remus' face.

"Well anyway, he seems to have done the Dark Lord a big favor, 'cause he's got a wish granted...to have you killed."

There was a silence for a while until Remus spoke up "Well, I can't really say that I'm surprised."

"You guys really used to be friends then?"

Remus didn't answer.

"Well, anyhow, I'm here to make you an offer mate, join the Dark Lord with me and you will be out of harms way. He might punish you, but you'd definitely stay alive..."

"Wait, you joined Voldemort?" Remus interrupted sharply.

Patric shuddered at the mention of the name, but replied evenly "Well yeah, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Are you kidding, you could have done about anything else! Why join the Death Eaters, are you insane!"

"Calm down Remus, this is the only sane thing to do in our position. Think about the opportunities."

"You mean destroy lives of others?" Remus said in a no-nonsense kind of voice.

Ignoring it, his friend went on "No, I mean the opportunity to live a normal life. We wouldn't be outcasts..."

"How, Patric, can it be that you are so blind? Don't you see that joining forces with Voldemort is going to cost you not just your freedom and your sanity but your very soul?"

"I don't see your problem Remus. There are only advantages for us! All you have to agree on is a lifetime of service."

"Which consists of murdering innocent people for God's sake, there is no way you can make a bargain like that!"

"The only lives that will be lost will be of those who fear and hate us for what we are! You can't really say that they mean anything to you. We are talking about people who kill werewolves on sight."

"That doesn't mean we have the right to kill them."

"Would you stop being so freaking noble and listen to me for a sec? The Dark Lord doesn't just make promises like that. Once he set his mind on something, he won't back down. You're a target now Remus, which means, if you don't come along with me right now, you will not live to see the day to regret this choice."

"I'm not going anywhere Patric."

"You're insane Remus! This is serious, you have to listen to me. All Death Eaters will be looking for you, you won't be able to hide anywhere, you're going to suffer a really horrible death, is your pride really worth your life?"

"One day you will see that this isn't about pride at all. It's about choosing between what is right and what is easy."

"So, what, you are seriously going to let yourself be murdered because of your _principles? _Tell me, what's in it for you?"

"Have you ever heard of the concept of a clean conscience?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this! You really can't stop with this hero complex of yours, can you? Do you realize that you would ultimately sacrifice your life for people who despise you? It's not worth it my friend."

"I don't think you realize what you got yourself into Patric. Being a Death Eater is the wrong choice, and I would never do that."

Patric was looking at his friend now with an expression that had the word "crazy" written all over it. After a moment he found his voice again "Wow, I... I can't believe I wasted a trip."

"You haven't wasted a trip mate. I can give you the chance to reconsider your choice of joining forces with the dark side" said Remus evenly.

"I can't reconsider. I chose, Remus, I chose; and wisely so I might add. What can I do to make you see sense? You'll die, you know that. You have a choice here between life and death. Why choose death, why let them kill you?"

"If I were to be killed while defying Voldermort to the last moment, my life will have been worth something. There are things that are worth dying for Patric." Remus voice was so sincere, that it held no room for argument.

"Okay, I get it, you're nuts! Fine, if you want to die like a hero, go ahead. My debt is repaid."

"It is, thanks for the warning." Remus said, smiling slightly.

"I doubt a warning alone can save you from your fate. It has been a pleasure to know you, Good bye Remus." Patric smiled sadly at his friend, and with a swing of his wand disappeared.

"Good bye Patric," Remus muttered and slowly walked back to the house only he could see.

Upon entering the house and walking into the kitchen Remus realized all eyes were on him. "So, I take it, you've watched that?" he asked curiously.

"Well, we actually heard it too, sorry Remus, but we had to make sure you were alright." said Arthur Weasley, looking guilty.

"How seriously can you take this guy?" Alastor asked him

"I'm not sure really."

"What kind of a debt did he owe you, Remus?" Dumbledore asked evenly.

"Well, a couple of years ago during a full moon, while I was under the influence of the Wolves-bane-potion I took a walk through a forest when I heard werewolf hunters attacking him. Somehow I got them off his tail, and made them follow me, and since I wasn't as mindless and bloodthirsty as I would have been without the potion, I managed to hide from them. After they left and the moon passed we got to know each other."

"That sounds like a wizard's debt. You saved his life, we have to take his warning seriously." Tonks said gravely.

"Yeah, I guess so." Remus stammered, feeling uncomfortable with being the center of everyone's attention.

"For the time being, I would like you to stay here Remus, there are no reasons to be taking any unnecessary risks," Dumbledore stated "By this time tomorrow we will hopefully know more about this situation." He looked at Snape, who nodded and they seemed to have reached an understanding without saying a single word.

"As for planning an offensive strike, I would like to ask you all to postpone that until tomorrow as well, it seems things are moving into different directions, and it would be wise for us to observe them closely before acting. If that's all," he said sweeping his eyes around the table at every one sitting there "I will close this meeting; we will see each other tomorrow, good night to you all."

There was a muddle of "good night Albus" and "see you tomorrow sir" as the head of the Order of the Phoenix left the kitchen and apparated, some of the order members, Snape, Shacklebolt, Arthur and Mundungus, followed right behind him, some saying their goodbyes before leaving.

Others however remained seated "So, looks like you're stuck here along with me." Sirius said in a would-be casual voice.

"There's no need to gloat Sirius, at least I'm being chased by the bad guys and not the law." Remus retorted.

"You mean if you had the choice of being on the look out from the ministry or Voldemort, you would choose the latter?"

"If I had a choice I'd tell both to leave me well enough alone, bunch of gits they are, Fudge and Voldy. " They both laughed.

"How you guys can laugh about this is beyond me." Tonks told them, sitting across from Sirius. "Wasn't the guy who put you both into this situation a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, damn it, he was, and I'll kill him next chance I get. Just have to make sure Harry won't be around to stop me again" Sirius said darkly.

"That Potter kid is to noble for his own good" Moody growled, standing by the fire with his hip-flask in his hand.

"Don't say that Alastor, Harry had a good reason for doing what he did, and he saved me from becoming a cold blooded killer, something I am thankful for every day I wake up in the morning. I just don't know where he took the courage from to stop us killing his parent's murderer, his heart must be made of pure gold." Remus said softly.

"Yeah, no kidding. He takes after his parents, no question." Sirius said, starring into the fire.

They sat in silence for a moment, thinking of their lost friends, each in their own way.

"It must be so hard on Harry, knowing that his parents were killed because of the betrayal of a friend of theirs." Tonks said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it probably is. Hell, for about half a year he was convinced that I did that, and he was almost ready to kill me for it, I saw it in his eyes. I guess I owe it to Remus here, to have that mess cleared up. All I wanted to do was kill Wormtail. I was so caught up in hatred and anger, I didn't really know what I was doing." Sirius said

"Harry wanted to kill you?" Tonks sounded stunned, this bit of information apparently new to her.

"Standing there with his wand pointed at my head, and hatred in his eyes, I'd say that's a pretty good bet. Hell, I'd let him kill me twice over if I knew it would make him feel better, the least thing I could do you know." Silence followed these words for a while.

"It's getting late people, and I have the night shift at the department of mysteries, so I'd better get going" Moody said, while putting on his traveling cloak.

"Be careful Alastor, it's probably more dangerous tonight then before" Lupin got up to see him to the door.

"And after what happened to Arthur, we know that whatever it is they're after, they'd kill to get it." Tonks said, worry giving her voice a distinct edge.

"Don't you lot lecture me about constant vigilance, I'm paranoid enough as it is." Moody growled.

"We're only a bunch of worried friends Alastor, I hope you haven't forgotten the concept." Sirius said smiling.

"And I had only been an Auror for 20 years of my life. It's you guys, who are being looked for, so I'd say you save your speech for yourselves and stop worrying about an old war hog like me. Better say a prayer for them though, they wouldn't know what's coming until they got it."

"That's the spirit Moody." said Tonks brightly.

"I'll see you lot in the morning then. And Lupin, go to sleep, it looks like you haven't had any for a week." and with that Moody left.

"You know, he does have a point Moony, now that I think about it." Sirius said, looking his friend over critically "You better have a nice long lie in for a change." looking over to Tonks he added "What about you Nymphy, wanna sleep over?"

"What can I do to make you stop calling me that!" she said angrily.

"Nothing really, I like the name." Sirius said mockingly.

"Give it up Tonks, I've spent the better part of our Hogwarts years to make him stop calling me Moony and look what it helped." Remus grinned.

"Well I'm not gonna give up on it that easily. But, yeah, I'll stay here tonight, after all you two need a trained Auror to look after you." she said, leading the way up the stairs.

"You're too kind Nymphy."

After they all reached the first floor Sirius announced in a mock-formal tone "Welcome, welcome to the noble and most ancient house of Black. Along this corridor to the left is our guest room for our favorite and most special relatives. Mistress Tonks, if you would grant me the honor and follow me."

Tonks chuckled slightly "Honestly, if my mom knew I was here she would freak; kept telling me this place was guarded with anti-blood traitor wards that kill you instantly."

"As far as my parents are concerned that sounds very in-character, we haven't had anything like that though, or I'd have experienced it first hand." Sirius told her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Black must have gotten soft in their old age then."

"Not likely." Sirius replied darkly.

"Good night to you guys then, I'll see you in the morning." Tonks said smiling and closing the door behind herself.

"As for you Moony, since you're staying here for a while, how would you like it to live next to me?" Sirius asked excitedly.

"Anywhere with a bed is fine." Remus answered, finally realizing how tired he was.

"Well, why just ask for a bed when you can have our deluxe suite also known as my father's dorm?" He led Remus up another flight of stairs and they entered a room with a rather large four poster bed in the corner, a bookshelf right next to it and an ancient looking desk in front of the window next to a fireplace. "Don't worry about the books, Molly and I have checked them all out and the violent ones we got rid of, that cupboard over there also had some nasty inhabitant but after a brief warfare he decided to go willingly, and yeah, I guess the thing with the ghoul you heard about. So, what do you think?"

"I think it's perfect." Remus beamed.

"Thought you might like it," Sirius said smiling at him "I'm sure Albus is gonna make someone get your stuff, but until then, we stored all of Regulus' old stuff in that drawer over there, and with Molly's ingenuity it all looks brand new."

"Thanks Padfoot." Remus said through a yawn.

"No problem at all _roomy_. See you in the morning then."

"Night Sirius"

"Good night Remus" and with that Sirius closed the door behind himself and walked over to his own room next door.

A/N

I cleaned this first chapter up after I realized just how messed up it was. Sorry to everyone who read it, and thanks for reading it again! Drop a review on the way out ;-)


	2. The Next Day

Disclaimer: The characters of this story belong to the much adored JK Rowling and nothing will ever change that. Said characters however wouldn't leave my thoughts and dreams alone until I finally wrote their not-so-well-known adventures down and posted this; so it's their fault really, blame Remus and Dumbledore and Sirius and...

PS Not making any kind of profit whatsoever

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The next morning Sirius got up at close to 7:30. The first thing he did after leaving his room was check on Remus, who slept like a tiered wolf. Cautiously he closed the door and went downstairs. Tonks was in the kitchen eating crone flakes as Sirius walked in.

"Morning, Tonks"

"Hey Sirius, thought you'd never get up."

"So how long have you been up then?"

For about two hours now. Moody stopped by briefly, after finishing his shift, and then went straight home for a nap."

"Any news?"

"No, everything's normal, and no word on the Death Eater's intention about Remus yet."

"Yeah, not yet." Sirius said bitterly.

"Don't worry about him, cousin, he's fine here and we'll get to the bottom of this soon enough."

"Yea, I guess so.. it's just, well.."

"His speech yesterday threw you off balance." Tonks finished for him. Sirius nodded and she went on "Threw me off too you know, I mean I always liked Remus, he's a terrific friend and he always struck me with his loyalty for our cause and his conviction about doing the right thing, but yesterday... all about his life being worth something if he defied You-know-who.. it's like he was saying that... I don't know-"

"That his life wouldn't be worth anything without that." it was Sirius' turn to finish for her.

"Yeah." she whispered.

"I have known him for a long time now, and I don't think his attitude towards himself ever changed. You know, the first time I ever saw him cry was when James and I confronted him with the fact that he's a werewolf and told him we were okay with it. He was so convinced that we'd abandon him; it still hurts me to think about it. He has always been the best of friends when it comes to helping others out, but he hardly ever asked for help; always wanted to master his problems by himself, as though he wouldn't deserve our help or something..."

"Well he does deserve it, every bit of it." Tonks stated firmly "I just wish we could make him see that."

They both sat in silence for a while.

"For what it's worth," Sirius finally spoke up "he'll listen to Dumbledore, and if Dumbledore tells him to stay put, he will."

"Kind of like you."

"Yeah, kind of like me."

"I better head off to the office, I'll see you in the meeting today." she said while taking out her wand.

"Have a good day Tonks, and tell the sun I miss her."

"Will do, bye." and she disapparated.

For the next few hours Sirius went about the house in his usual routine, cooking breakfast, feeding Buckbeak, annoying Kreacher, cleaning the kitchen, and brooding over intelligence reports of the other Order members. It was around eleven when Remus finally showed up looking very well rested.

"Good morning sleepy head." Sirius grinned, sitting at the kitchen table and looking over at him.

"What time is it?" Remus asked, helping himself to a cup of coffee from the kitchen counter.

"About lunchtime actually, hungry?"

"Sure... wait, what happened to the morning?"

"Slept away apparently. I took the liberty to turn off your alarm, it's not like we are going anywhere for a while, so I thought you'd like to oversleep for a change."

"Haven't done that in a while."

" I don't recall anytime at all back in school when you were once not up at the break of dawn."

"Well I like mornings," Remus said, taking a sip of his coffee and sitting down opposit of his friend "So, any news by the way?"

"Nothing so far, the Department of Mysteries was all quiet once again, and I'm guessing we'll know more about your situation at the meeting in seven hours."

"Oh, I could really get used to this. Seven hours of doing nothing." Remus said dreamily.

"You better enjoy this while you still can you know, before the walls seem like they're closing in on you." Sirius stated offhandedly.

"You seem to be managing this pretty well though." Remus retorted.

"What can I say, I had lots of practice."

They were both silent for a moment until...

"I'm sorry Sirius-"

"Don't worry about it Moony, really. Azkaban will haunt me for the rest of my life, among other things, I'll get used to it." he said looking his friend in the eyes. Remus seemed to be looking for something in them and found it, because he nodded and Sirius went on "Besides, we have other problems at the moment. How about you tell me about your dear pal Patric?"

"Do I hear jealousy in your voice Padfoot?" Remus asked mockingly.

"Well, since when are you making friends without including us?"

"Ever since I was the only one left."

It took a moment until the impact of these words hit Sirius with full force. "Oh God, I'm sorry Remus, I-"

"We should really stop apologizing to each other like that" Remus broke him off "and besides, I just felt hurt and betrayed after that Halloween night, you on the other hand were sent to spend a decade in hell, so you should really not spend your energy worrying about me."

"I would never claim that you wouldn't be able to cope with anything Moony, I just feel really guilty that I went after Peter and got myself locked in, instead of trying to stay focused and take care of Harry and you-"

"And I feel crappiely guilty that I never tried to figure out the truth in those twelve years. All I did was push that whole thing out of my head and move on, not even thinking of the possibility that you might be innocent-"

"That wasn't your faul-"

Remus held up his hand to silence him "Don't, Sirius. Don't tell me it's not my fault or that you don't blame me or anything like that, please. I already know you well enough to know that even if I accidentally killed you, you wouldn't hold a grudge. But please don't say you forgive me for turning my back on you just like that... at least not yet, I have to find it in me to forgive myself first."

They were looking at each other, both with a deep understanding for the seriousness of this situation and after a long moment Sirius finally nodded "Alright, I wont say it."

"Thanks" Remus muttered "And to answer your question, Patric and I have known each other for about the last three years, he's a nice guy for the most part, just, well, I guess you heard what he said yesterday."

Sirius nodded silently and Remus went on "It's always the same with people like him. There is a distinct pattern, they're scared and they're heartless and before you know it they support Voldemort and wear masks in their free time."

"You realize that there was nothing you could have done, right?"

"Yeah, I get that, it's just frustrating that's all."

"No kidding. Say, want to help me with lunch?" Sirius asked, getting up.

"Sure, I still can't believe I missed breakfast."

"On second thought, have you ever missed a meal Moony?"

"Not that I recall."

At that moment the front door opened and trough came Arthur Weasley, a little out of breath "Remus? Oh, thank goodness you're here. You better have a seat," while sitting down himself Arthur went on "I was approached by three different ministry officials today, demanding to know your whereabouts. One - Lucius Malfoy, another Walden Macnair, and the third non other than Cornelius Fudge."

"Fudge? Why.. you don't think he's..."

"No, I'm fairly certain he's not working for the Death Eater. It's probably been Malfoy who asked him about you, and since he owes Malfoy for donating this huge stack of gold, he tried to do him a favor. But the point is if you were not here now, you'd be dead, it got horribly serious in a very short time. I need to know exactly what you've been doing recently, who you were friends with, that sort of thing, we need to know whom to protect."

"What about my family?"

"Dumbledore has seen to that already, your mother and her brother are in hiding."

"Well, apart from them it's the order I've been spending my time with, although not so much out in the open, since most of our operations are thankfully undercover."

"No one we don't know about?"

"No one the Death Eaters will target on my behalf, I can't believe this got out of hands so fast, what do they want with me anyhow?"

"I honestly don't want to think about that." Arthur said quietly.

"Look, aren't we all targets to the Death Eaters?"

"Not as much as you Remus, there is no way you can risk leaving this place right now. " After a moment of silence Arthur got up "I better get back to the office, just promise me you stay here, no matter what."

Remus didn't answer and so Arthur grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly causing Remus to look into his eyes "You are not leaving this place, you got that? You cannot get yourself killed like that!"

"I'm not planning to get myself killed Arthur." Lupin stated evenly.

"Good. Sorry for being rude, but I wouldn't be able to bare the thought that these bastards got hold of you. It'll hopefully quiet down in a while, but until then, take a break, you've done enough for our cause to last a lifetime; that actually goes to both of you." he said looking at Sirius "Now, I better get going before anyone notices I'm gone."

"Wait Arthur, you said Malfoy approached you. Did he threaten you?"

"Not really. I managed to convince him that I haven't seen you in years; with no evidence to the contrary he probably believed me. Gotta go now guys, I'll see you in the meeting today." and with a swish of his wand he disapparated.

After yet another period of silence, this one a bit longer, Sirius tried to sound casually as he asked "Lunch?"

"I'm not really hungry anymore." Remus said, burying his face in his hands.

"Yeah, me neither," Sirius sat down beside his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder "It will get better you know?"

"What will?"

"This feeling that the world you trusted for so long has betrayed you."

"Yeah,... I guess you'd know about that."

"Come on buddy, I know something that might cheer you up." Sirius said while pulling him up and dragging him to the kitchen.

A/N

press the button, write your comment, it takes you a minute and makes my day!


	3. The Meeting

Hey people, why wont you review me? Please oh please tell me what you think about this so far! I don't fear flames, criticism helps too. Now here is chapter 3,

The Meeting

A few hours later two of the world famous marauders could be found in the kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld place arguing heatedly amidst stacks of cakes and deserts of all kinds, some of which had been tasted so much they were almost gone.

"That's not the way you do it Sirius!" Remus sounded exasperated as he told this to a very stubborn thick head who was trying to teach him something he knew a lot better.

"I distinctly remember it working this way Remus" the thick head answered confidently.

"Well, that just proves how poor your memory is. I have done that so often in my life, I know perfectly well how to make a chocolate cake, and this is not the way!" Remus said while taking away a carton of eggs Sirius was holding.

"Fine, you win, go on and do it the _right_ way then. This must be very important to you, I hardly ever saw you that angry."

"Well, somethings are simply too important to be messed around with by armatures." Remus said seriously but it was obvious that he was holding back a laugh.

"You've got your priorities right Moony." Sirius said with a grin evident in his voice, but Remus was not listening and concentrated on his task with startling commitment.

"I hate to interrupt the two of you but I believe we have a meeting to hold." came a voice from the kitchen door. In response to it both marauders spun around in shock, realizing that it was past six already.

"So it's true what they say-"

"Time flies when you're having fun." Sirius and Remus grinned, at their former headmaster.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled "I see you two had quite a productive day." he said as he scanned the kitchen counter which was overflowing with all kinds of treats from strawberry moose to pumpkin pies and caramel soufflés.

"Well we were bored and had lots of time on our hands." Sirius said defensively. Even after having graduated from Hogwarts more then a decade ago Dumbledore had a way to make him feel like a guilty prankster who has to justify his actions.

Albus, who was very aware of his ability to make his former students feel guilty tried to keep a stern face although the twinkle in his eyes ruined its effect "Well, as long as you are willing to share some of those deserts I am willing to overlook your blunder." he said which had the result of a loud crack. Remus, who was laughing his head off in the far corner of the kitchen accidentally dropped the bowl with the chocolate dough.

Before anyone could say anything else, Kingsley apparated into the kitchen and seemed to be heavily out of breath. "Albus we have a problem, I can't find Tonks anywhere." he said while falling into the nearest chair "She wasn't in the office ever since noon and nobody saw her either, we were supposed to meet up but she never arrived!"

"But where could she have gone..." Lupin began, but was interrupted as more people entered the kitchen: Moody, McGonagall, Dung, Bill, Molly, Arthur all taking their respective seats.

"What's going on here?" Moody asked.

"That's what I'd like to know." Sirius spoke up looking at Shacklebolt.

Before any of them could have another say however, the kitchen door open again and Snape came striding in "Albus, we have a problem, the dark Lord kidnapped Nymphadora Tonks."

"What!" several people cried at once.

With the rising of his hand Dumbledore managed to quiet down to rising panic in the room "Explain, Severus."

"She was brought in to head quarters about three hours ago. The Dark Lord gave me the job to report this to you so you in turn could report it to Lupin."

"Why him?" Sirius asked, dreading the answer.

"Because he wants me." Remus said before anyone else could answer.

Snape nodded "Yes, he said he will set her free once he's got you."

"When are you going back Severus?" Remus asked, trying to ignore everyone's shocked reaction to Snape's last statement.

"Tomorrow." Severus stated, not really sure where Lupin was going.

"I'll go with you."

"You most certainly will not!" Sirius burst out.

Ignoring Sirius and everyone else, Remus went on "I can be your prisoner, you can tell him you caught me."

At this point Sirius grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him violently "Would you snap out of it? There is no way I'm going to let you hand yourself over to Voldemort! Is that clear?"

"That's enough Sirius." Dumbledore's forceful voice cut him off "Remus, there is no way to know if Voldemort will be true to his word and release Nymphadora once he has got his hands on you-"

"But shouldn't we at least try?" Remus cut in but Dumbledore held up his hand again,

"You are not to hand yourself over to the Death Eaters Remus, is that understood." Dumbledore's forceful voice soften slightly but his stern eyes were boring into Remus' like a laser.

Remus didn't answer but kept his eyes locked with Dumbledore's. He could see Albus' desperate plea for him not to go get himself captured and also a certain protectiveness from the headmaster towards his former student and now good friend; after what seemed like an eternity Remus nodded and broke eye contact, now determinedly staring at the tabletop.

"We do however need to find a way to free miss Tonks, and sooner rather then later." Dumbledore stated "Severus, if you could give us a few more details about the situation."

Snape, who seemed to be quite in shock from Lupin's readiness to die, was a bit startled by that request but recovered quickly "There aren't many things you don't already know. The Dark Lord doesn't have much interest in keeping the young Auror as prisoner other then for the purpose of bait. I highly doubt he knows about her involvement in our cause."

"So how do we get her away from there?" Bill Weasley spoke up.

"It is hardly possible to break into his head quarters." Moody put in

"Then we have to find a way of luring them away from there with Tonks in tow." McGonagall stated reasonably.

"Here's an idea, how about we use a little bait of our own?" Mundungus said, looking at Remus who finally looked up again.

"No way!" Sirius said forcefully.

"Wait, let the man speak Padfoot," Remus said, holding Sirius down in order to keep him in his seat.

"Well, I was thinking we could built up some kind of prisoner trade at some abandoned moor, with backup not far away, I realize this could be dangerous though."

"Does sound better then getting killed straight away though, to be honest." Remus said lightly, deceiving no one.

"So you want to make them believe that we'd hand over Lupin?" Moody growled "Sounds unlikely if you asked me."

"We'll have to be convincing then" Arthur said, seeming to have decided that this might be worth a shot "we'd have to be really careful though."

"Arthur!" his wife cut him off "I can't believe you'd even consider this, we'd be setting up Remus to be caught, and you heard what that man said yesterday" she was of course referring to Patric "You-Know-Who wants him dead!"

"Molly.." Arthur began with a soothing voice.

"No! Don't _Molly_ me, you are all crazy for thinking this is a good idea! We can not risk one of our own like that before working through all other options!"

Sirius found himself agreeing wholeheartedly with Molly. Everyone else seemed totally off their rocker at that moment "Molly is right, there has to be another way."

"Like what Black? Because I can't think of anything, short of a full scale attack at the riddle house, and that's suicide." said Alastor.

"Okay, so we don't attack him, how else can we get Tonks away from him?"

"There is no way we can secretly extract her, the place is too well guarded." Dung put in.

"So we need to find something we can exchange for her" McGonagall suggested.

"What about me?" Sirius said out of the blue.

"What about you what, Sirius?" Minerva asked confused.

"I can be the bait."

"What!"

"You know, let's think about that exchange idea again, how would dear Voldy react if he got the chance to get me?"

"He'd go for it, but we are not pursuing this option Black." Moody growled.

"Come on Alastor, why not?"

"Because I say so."

"How is that a reason?"

"I don't need a reason to keep you from killing yourself Black," Moody said irritably.

"So you'd rather see Remus here getting killed?" Sirius said hotly.

"No Black, I wouldn't. But you leaving this place is a greater risk then anything else we could possibly come up with today."

"Damn it Alastor, that would be my risk to take."

"And I wont let you take it" Mad-eye stated so simply, it made the whole situation seem comical.

"Well, I'm not going to let Remus take that damn risk either, so you might as well go with my suggestion, because the other one is out of the question!"

"This is not getting us anywhere!" Snape broke them off in an angry tone, making the attention shift over to him.

"Got a better idea then?" Sirius refrained with all his might to add _Snivellus_ and thankfully succeeded.

"No, but your desire to get killed wont get us anywhere."

"As if you wouldn't jump at the chance of having this plan seen through." Sirius retorted.

"I have to admit the plan has its appealing parts, but the truth is we don't have this kind of time to be contemplating non- pursuable options."

"Could we all get back to plan A then?" Lupin spoke up

"Why, Remus, why would you like to get killed so much?" Sirius burst out, irritated at him big time.

" I wont get killed, when I can help it, and damn it it's the only logical thing to do from here on, we might all not like it, but we have to do it, so there."

"You're just nuts."

"I get that a lot lately."

"We're not going to let you do that, you heard Albus before didn't you?"

"This does not equal to _handing myself over_ Sirius, this is a real plan with, chance of success and all."

"Dumbledore?" Sirius tuned to the headmaster with the desperate hope that he would decline this insanity.

No such luck however, Sirius realized as Albus spoke up " I have to admit this sounds promising, and worthy of being pursued as an option as long as we all realize what kind of risks are involved and make sure we don't take them too lightly."

Sirius' face fell noticeably, this was too much. How could Dumbledore approve of something like this?

"Albus, this is dangerous!" Minerva burst out in an expression that would make any 7th year crumble under her gaze "How can you possibly approve of this?"

"I realize the dangers of such a mission, but I sadly have to admit that there might not be an alternative."

Silence followed Dumbledore's words for a while. Some people, above all Sirius, desperately tried to think of any other way to solve this crises, but apparently came up empty, for, no one spoke up until Mundungus turned to the Headmaster "So, how will we go about this then, exactly?"

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End chapter 3, I will post more quickly when I get your feedback on this, so be kind and press on that little go button down there and just tip in your opinion. And don't kid yourself, I know everyone has an opinion, and what ever it may be, I want to read it!

Thanks so much, bye for now


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